


Like Old Times

by Pigzxo



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 1x07 coda, Asexual Character, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 09:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10215158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pigzxo/pseuds/Pigzxo
Summary: Jughead and Archie spend some time talking after Jughead agrees to stay at Archie's house for the night.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics from "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers

Jughead sat on Archie’s bed playing around with his guitar. He knew a couple of chords, maybe enough to get through a scale, but he wasn’t focused enough to play anything remotely close to music. Instead, he listened to the air mattress filling up and was silently thankful that Archie had offered him a place in his room instead of the couch.

            Once the mattress was full, Archie sat down beside him on the bed. Gently, he pulled the guitar from Jughead and rested it on his leg. He played a few chords – a slight warm-up – and then offered Jughead a thin smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

            Jughead snorted. “But you don’t believe that’s because my dad will get better.”

            Archie looked away and played a few more notes. Jughead thought he caught a tune he recognized but it slipped away as soon as Archie’s fingertips drummed against the guitar’s surface. Archie licked his lips and said, “You know I’d never say anything bad about your dad.”

            “I know he’s not a saint.”

            “But you love him and that’s good enough for me.”

            Jughead met Archie’s eyes and nodded weakly. He wanted nothing more than to gather his best friend in his arms and hold him tight but there was a guitar between them. Archie played the same notes again, his fingers whispering over the strings, and Jughead closed his eyes to see if he could remember the song. Archie went a little further, his fingers unsure, like he’d never played the song before. He hit a wrong note – Jughead was sure of it even though he wasn’t sure of the song yet – and Archie backtracked to find the right chord progression.

            Archie got through the intro and then started to sing softly.

_“Sometimes in our lives,_

_We all have pain, we all have sorrow,_

_But if we are wise,_

_We know there’s always tomorrow.”_

            “Wow,” Jughead said, smiling. “I don’t think I’ve heard that since... I don’t know. I was really young.”

            “Nine,” Archie said.

            Jughead gave him a look. “How do you know that?”

            “Because I remember you telling your mom that you were too old for her to sing you to sleep,” Archie kept playing but didn’t keep singing. “And she was devastated because, even at four, Jellybean was putting herself to bed.”

            Jughead laughed. “Well, I couldn’t exactly let my little sister look more grown up than me.” He let his eyes wander to Archie’s fingers again, unsure on the chords, tripping over different sounds. “How do you even know the song she sung though?”

            “Are you kidding? I used to sleep over at your house all the time.” Archie smiled. “You claimed you couldn’t sleep otherwise in the second grade.”

            Jughead bit his tongue and looked away. He remembered well enough. At seven years old, he had been afraid of the dark and more afraid of telling his dad he wanted his nightlight back. So he’d cajoled his parents into letting Archie sleep in his bed on school nights as long as they actually went to sleep on time. Which, of course, they didn’t, but they got very good at whispering and communicating in complete silence. What he didn’t remember was his mom singing both of them to sleep but he guessed she must have.

_“Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand,_

_We all need somebody to lean on._

_I just might have a problem that you’ll understand._

_We all need somebody to lean on.”_

            “Are you sure it’s all right that I’m staying here?” Jughead said. “Just for the night, I mean. I know you and your dad, you want me to... stay for good.”

            “You can.”

            Jughead shook his head. “I don’t want him to think I’m giving up on him again. I don’t want... he got better when I came back. Just a little bit, but at least it was a start. And maybe... maybe if I stick around he’ll keep getting better, you know?”

            Archie clapped Jughead on the back. “Yeah. I know.”

            “Tell me.” Jughead met his friend’s eyes. “I won’t be mad.”

            “Tell you what?”

            “That you don’t think he’ll do it.”

            Archie slipped the guitar off his thighs and settled it on the floor. He shifted closer to Jughead, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him closer. Jughead let his head fall onto Archie’s shoulder. Archie took a breath, then said, “I think your dad loves you a lot. And he’s going to do everything he can to be better for you.”

            “But?” Jughead fought to keep the crack out of his voice.

            “Everything he can might not be up to your standards.”

            Jughead felt a tear roll down his cheek and batted it away. He tried to shift away from Archie but his friend only held him tighter until Jughead turned his face into his shoulder and let himself cry. It was no big moment, no huge sobs, just tears silently streaming down his face and staining Archie’s shirt. Archie’s fingers carded through the hair at the nape of his neck and, even without the guitar, Archie started to sing the last of the lyrics.

_“Call me if you need a friend,_

_Call me, call me, uh-uh,_

_Call me when you need a friend,_

_Call me if you ever need a friend.”_

            “Arch?” Jughead mumbled after a moment.

            “Yeah?”

            “Do I have to sleep on the air mattress?”

            Archie’s chest rose in a puff of a laugh and he said, “Nah, you can have the bed.”

            “I meant...” Jughead trailed off, unsure where to go with his request. They weren’t nine year-olds anymore, easily small enough to fit into a twin-sized bed. And they weren’t innocents anymore either. Not that Jughead wanted anything past Archie’s heat at his side, maybe a solid place to rest his head. “Never mind.”

            “We can share the bed,” Archie said and Jughead wasn’t sure if he’d read his mind or was simply offering of his own volition. He told himself it didn’t matter. He didn’t care if Archie did it because he wanted to or because he pitied him. Any other time, any other day, he would have chewed Archie out for showing any signs of pity. But at the moment, he’d take it.

            “Thanks.”

            Archie shifted away and got up off the bed. He stripped off his shirt and Jughead took that as a sign that they were getting changed now. He shifted, wiped the drying tears from his cheeks, and began to undress. Carefully, he managed to keep out of Archie’s view and not look at his friend either. When he’d gotten his pants on and his old S shirt, he turned to find Archie shirtless and dressed only in a pair of plaid shorts. Jughead smirked.

            “What?” Archie said. “I get hot.”

            “You are hot.”

            Archie laughed and threw his shirt at him. “Thought you didn’t like people that way.”

            “I can appreciate an aesthetic.”

            Shaking his head, Archie pulled back the covers on the bed and shifted under the sheets. He moved right up against the wall and placed his hands on his chest. Jughead hesitated a moment and then slid into the small empty space beside him. His butt was halfway off the mattress, the sheets pulled tight across them both. Jughead could feel Archie’s shoulder pressed into his, could tell how fast his friend was breathing. Jughead shifted a little, unused to Archie taking up so much space.

            “When was the last time we did this?” Jughead grumbled.

            “Fourth grade?”

            “Before your growth spurt.”

            Archie laughed, the sound nervous and shaky.

            “I’m not gonna try anything, you know.”

            “Shut up.”

            Jughead rolled onto his side and bunched his half of the pillow up underneath his head. He started to close his eyes. Archie shifted behind him, giving him a little more room, and Jughead shifted further onto the mattress. Then, to his surprise, Archie’s arm came down around his torso. For a moment, Jughead froze. He didn’t breathe. “You okay?” Archie asked, his voice calm and soft. Jughead nodded. He forced his muscles to relax and let Archie pull him flush against his chest. They fit on the bed much better this way.

            Archie pressed a kiss to Jughead’s clothed shoulder. “No matter what,” he said, “you’re welcome here and you’re safe here.”

            Jughead felt himself relax further, couldn’t help the smile curling over his lips. The urge to make a smartass comment rose in him but he batted it down. Instead, he closed his eyes and listened to Archie’s breathing gradually slow. He matched him breath for breath until sleep overtook him.


End file.
